The Principles of Harmony and Contrast of Colours, and Their Applications to the Arts

by Michel Eugène Chevreul, Charles Martel

This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Science

474 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1855

About the author

Michel Eugène Chevreul (31 August 1786 – 9 April 1889) was a French chemist whose work with fatty acids led to early applications in the fields of art and science. He is credited with the discovery of margaric acid, creatine, and designing an early form of soap made from animal fats and salt. He lived to 102 and was a pioneer in the field of gerontology. He is also one of the 72 people whose names are inscribed on the Eiffel Tower; of those 72 scientists and engineers, Chevreul was one of only two who were still alive when Gustave Eiffel planted the French Tricolor on the top of the tower on 31 March 1889 (the other being Hippolyte Fizeau) and was the last living individual born before the French Revolution.

Reviews

[Shine Sebastian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very useful and fascinating book about the different phemomenae of colours in relation to each other and the applications these principles have on various forms of art and industry such as painting, print making, gardening, archtecture etc.
This book will offer immence insight and understanding of colours for everyone who reads it, a must read for every visual artist.
( If any of my goodreads friends would like to see my paintings, they can check them out at my fb page, - ' Artist Shine SJ, Kerala ' )

[Erika Mulvenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an exhaustive read. So much detail, so much minutia in endless lists of color harmonies, contrasts, and the like. Still, it was worth it to read Chevreul's ideas and theories about colors and how the interact with each other when viewed by the human eye. I can totally see how this book was a direct influence on Pointillism, Impressionism, and Neo-Impressionism.

I read the Faber Birren edition of this book, and I'd say his extra commentary and information added make this an invaluable book to read. Recommended for any artist, designer or quilter interested in learning more about Color Theory.